Google revs Motorola innovation with Guy Kawasaki hire

'Apple Fellow' to provide excitement lessons for staid mobes unit

Common Topics

Although its Android platform is now streaking up the charts courtesy of Samsung's success in the smartphone business, Google's own mobiles turn in consistently less-than-stellar performances. So the Chocolate Factory has hired former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki to try and breathe some life into the brand.

Of course, Motorola's woes stretch back far further than its absorption into Mountain View's sticky embrace – and it's generally assumed that Google was more interested in Motorola's patent portfolio than actual products. However, since the acquisition, Motorola's weakness has proven a drag on Google's balance sheet.

As stated by Google CFO Patrick Pichette at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference last Thursday (February 28), the Motorola product pipeline acquired by Google lacked any “'wow' by Google standards.”

That pipeline, he said, had to be “drained” – which includes recent DROID-series launches (RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M) ahead of the upcoming May “X Phone” launch.

As that pipeline drains, however, Google will have to stand on its own successes or failures, so to get punters excited at the prospect of owning a product that Sergey Brin in February told the Long Beach TED conference is “emasculating”, the company is turning to Kawasaki.

The once-Apple evangelist will work as an advisor to Google, focussing on product design, user interface, marketing and social media according to his Facebook post. Although a long time away from Apple, Androidauthority notes that he is one of a small handful of “Apple Fellows” (as is Steve Wozniak). Kawasaki has kicked off his stint with the creation of the Mobile Devices Google+ Community, http://www.androidauthority.com/guy-kawasaki-motorola-163284/ here.